Response:

Thanks for writing.

I believe that Scripturally either a Pastor or an Evangelist, or in fact any Christian, can be referred to as a "minister". There are two main words translated "minister" in the New Testament. The one used most often is "diakonos", which is actually the basis for the English word "deacon". The word itself simply means to serve. In I Timothy 3:7, the deacon is referred to as "diakonos". In Romans 13:4, governmental leaders are referred to as "diakonos". In Romans 15:8, Jesus Christ is referred to as a "diakonos". In I Corinthians 3:5, Paul and Apollos are called "diakonos". In I Thessalonians 3:2, Timothy is referred to as a "diakonos". So Paul, who I would consider to be more of an evangelist than a pastor, Timothy, who was definitely a pastor, and our Lord Himself are all referred to as ministers. Therefore, with reference to that particular word, there is no difference. Ministers are simply servants.

The second word that is translated "minister" is "huperetes", which literally means an "under-oarsman". In Luke 4:20, the leader of the synagogue is referred to as a "huperetes". In Matthew 5:25, an officer of the court was called a "huperetes". In Acts 13:5, John is said to be a "huperetes" to Paul and Barnabas as they set out on their missionary journey. In Acts 26:16, God calls the Apostle Paul a "huperetes". Again, the word seems to refer mostly to the idea of simply being a servant.

Often in our society, we specifically refer to a pastor as being a minister. I believe there is a difference between the Biblical offices of pastor and evangelist. Ephesians 4: 11 states, "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers". Clearly the office of the evangelist and the office of the pastor are not the same. In II Timothy 4:5, Paul tells Pastor Timothy to "Do the work of an evangelist". In Acts 21:8, Phillip is said to be an evangelist. What did evangelists do? These were men who preached the Gospel of salvation. In Acts 21, Phillip is preaching to lost people about their need of salvation, and people are getting saved. Paul is not referred to as an evangelist, yet seems to have that type of ministry as he travelled to places that had not received the Gospel previously (Romans 15:20). In Ephesians 4:11, the verse is teaching that God gave four different offices to the church. The offices of Apostle and Prophet have been done away with, for since we have the completed canon of Scripture we no longer need them (I Corinthians 13:8-12). These were the foundations, after Christ, of the early church (Ephesians 2:20). The Evangelist then was the one who went out and preached to the unsaved, and brought them to Christ. The Pastor/Teacher followed this up with the responsibility to lead and feed the church that was established by those who were saved through the ministry of the evangelist (I Peter 5:2, Ephesians 4:12, II Timothy 4:2).

I do not know how your particular church uses the various titles of "minister" and "evangelist", so I can only refer you to what the Bible says about these terms. May I say that anyone can be an "evangelist" as far as proclaiming the Gospel is concerned and being a soul-winner (in fact, all believers should be busy "evangelizing" those that we come in contact with), but only certain people have been given the spiritual gift of holding the office of an evangelist, and only certain people have been given the spiritual gift of holding the office of pastor.

By Dr Mark Montgomery Ambassador Baptist Church 1926 Babcock Blvd Pittsburgh, PA 15209 (412)477-3210